Dating of thaw depths in permafrost terrain by the palaeomagnetic method: experimental acquisition of a freezing remanent magnetization

The acquisition of a freezing remanent magnetization (FRM) has been studied in controlled magnetic and thermal environments by successive freezing and thawing (−18 to +20°C) of samples of natural sediments from a frost polygon near Ny Ålesund, Spitsbergen. Successive freeze-thaw cycles cause a significant decrease in the intensity of the initially induced shock remanent magnetization (SRM), associated with directional trends towards the ambient magnetic field direction during the freezing phase. A slow increase in intensity commences after seven to 10 freeze-thaw cycles. The acquisition of a FRM in samples carrying an isothermal remanent magnetization shows a significantly smaller reduction in intensity and only minor directional variations. This result indicates that only a fraction of the magnetic grains in a natural sediment contributes to the natural remanent magnetization. Insignificant changes in lengths and directions of the principal susceptibility ellipsoid axes also indicate that magnetic fabric and remanent magnetization are carried by partly different populations of magnetic grains.
The acquisition of a FRM in nature has yet to be explored. If such a process is confirmed, however, it has the potential for obtaining age estimates of ancient thaw depths and for providing insights into material transport processes in frost polygons.     

Palaeomagnetism of granitic intrusives from the Precambrian basement under eastern Kansas: orienting drill cores using secondary magnetization components

Summary. The Precambrian basement under east-central Kansas was drilled at two circular aeromagnetic positives, one at Osawattamie and one at Big Springs. The core retrieved from these sites is a coarse to medium grained granite which has been dated by U-Pb to be 1350 Ma old. The palaeomagnetism of these azimuthally unoriented cores was studied to see if a technique which uses low-coercivity, low-temperature magnetization components to orient the cores would allow an independent confirmation of the core's mid-Proterozoic age. Orthogonal projection plots of the alternating field (af) and thermal demagnetization data show that the magnetization of these cores is relatively simple, having only two components: a low-temperature, low-coercivity magnetization with steep positive inclinations and a shallow, negative inclination characteristic magnetization for the Osawattamie core or a positive, moderate inclination characteristic magnetization for the Big Springs core. If the declination of the low-temperature, low-coercivity component is aligned parallel to the present field declination, the characteristic directions may be azimuthally oriented. This allows the calculation of palaeomagnetic poles for the Big Springs core (lat. = 4.5°S, long. = 29.9°E) and the Osawattamie core (lat.= 20.2°N, long. = 39.3°E) which are consistent with Irving's apparent polar wander path for Laurentia at about 1300–1400 Ma. Comparison of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), viscous remanent magnetization (VRM), and isothermal remanent magnetization af demagnetization curves with a natural remanent magnetization (NRM) demagnetization curve suggests that the Osawattamie core probably acquired a piezoremanent magnetization (PRM) parallel to the core axis during drilling.     

Rotational remanent magnetization (RRM) and its high temporal and thermal stability

The time and temperature stability of various types of magnetic remanence has been measured in pottery samples containing magnetite and in a clay sample containing manganese ferrite. The time decay of rotational remanent magnetization (RRM), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) and a low-field isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) has been measured. While the decay of the last two remanences is easily measurable at about 2 and 19 per cent per decade of time, respectively, the decay of RRM is too small to be measured, being less than about 0.1 per cent per decade of time. Thermal demagnetization of thermoremanent magnetization (TRM), ARM and RRM indicates that RRM is also the most thermally stable. The implications of these experiments are that rocks which exhibit gyromagnetic effects such as RRM contain highly stable particles and therefore are likely to be most suitable for palaeomagnetism.     

Current-scattered (?) detrital remanence directions in the Zn-rich Pennsylvanian Stark black shale, USA

Palaeomagnetic results are reported from the metalliferous Stark black shale in the Upper Pennsylvanian (Missourian/Kasimovian) Kansas City Group. Palaeomagnetic analysis of 400 specimens from 28 sites gives a characteristic remanent magnetization in 17 sites of the shale that yields a Late Mississippian to Middle Pennsylvanian palaeopole at 32.2°N 128.5°E (dp = 4.7° and dm = 8.8°). The observed palaeomagnetic age is slightly older than the host rock, indicating that the mineralization of the Stark Shale has, excluding recent alteration, a primary sedimentary or syngenetic origin. The reason for the slightly older age is likely due to trace modern hematite that slightly steepens the remanence inclination. The large oval of 95 per cent confidence is interpreted to be caused by clay–magnetite aggregates that formed during sediment transport and the biasing effect of the gentle palaeocurrent at each site acting on the large aggregates. Therefore, the scattered distribution of the site mean remanence declinations found for the Stark Shale is evidence of a detrital remanent magnetization that is formed by primary sedimentary processes with an enriched metallic content and not remagnetization with mineralization by secondary hydrothermal processes.     

Gyroremanent magnetization produced by specimen rotation between successive alternating field treatments

Summary. On the basis of existing theories of rotational remanent magnetization, it is predicted that a gyroremanent magnetization (GRM) might be induced in an isotropic specimen whose orientation is changed during the interval between successive alternating field treatments. An expression is derived, relating the relative magnitude of GRM to the angular displacement, θ of a specimen about an axis perpendicular to the alternating field axis. The predicted effects were observed for four of the five specimens investigated, and in each case GRM was of comparable magnitude to the corresponding partial rotational remanent magnetization. Hysteresis loop curves and characteristics are all consistent with a main magnetic component comprising magnetite grains. A possible connection between GRM and another form of GRM reported in the case of an anisotropic specimen is suggested. Demagnetization of isotropic (and anisotropic) samples by means of the multi-axis technique might be adversely affected by production of GRM.     

Decay of a post-depositional remanent magnetization in wet sediments due to the effect of drying

Summary. The decay of the post-depositional remanent magnetization (post-DRM) during desiccation in magnetic field free space is measured as a function of the loss of water. The decay is ascribed to the drying effect and the time decay of viscous remanent magnetization (VRM). The VRM forms only 10 per cent of the total of loss of remanent magnetization. The decay due to the drying effects depends both on the loss of water and on either the evaporation rate or the period of storage. The percentage of loss of magnetization is independent of its intensity.
A critical drying stage appears (about 60 per cent in water content on a dry basis) which is characterized as a vanishing point of mobile particles or particle units. The mobile particles or units play an important role both in acquisition and demagnetization through physical rotational motion within wet sediments before the critical drying stage. More than 80 per cent of the total loss of the post-DRM is destroyed before the desiccation proceeds to the critical drying stage. The decay of post-DRh4 is concluded to be mainly due to the physically random rotation of the magnetic particles trapped in shallow energy wells which are overcome by the torques caused by the application of the alternating magnetic field less than 200 Oe.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Lower Cretaceous Sierra De Los Condores Group Cordoba Province Argentina

Measurements are described of the directions of remanent magnetization of 89 samples from nine lava flows and red beds. Stable remanent magnetization was isolated after AC demagnetizing. All the units have normal remanent magnetization, except one lava flow which yields a direction toward the north with positive inclination. From the mean direction of stable remanence, referred to the bedding, of each unit a virtual geomagnetic pole is computed; the mean of eight of these poles is 90·6 °E, 84·2° South, α₉₅= 4·7° and represents the position of the palaeomagnetic pole for the exposures of the Sierra de Los Condores group from El Estrecho-Cerro Libertad. The position of this pole is reasonably close to the positions of the South American Lower Cretaceous palaeomagnetic poles for the Serra Geral and Vulcanitas Cerro Colorado formations and the trachybasaltic dykes from Rio Los Molinos. This supports the interpretations that the South Atlantic Ocean was formed in Lower Cretaceous times and that the Earth's magnetic field was on average similar to that of a geocentric dipole in South America in the Lower Cretaceous, and suggests that there has not been substantial relative movements between Central Argentina and Southern Brazil.     

The detection of single-domain greigite (Fe3S4) using rotational remanent magnetization (RRM) and the effective gyro field (Bg): mineral magnetic and palaeomagnetic applications

The intensity of rotational remanent magnetization (RRM) acquired by single-domain greigite at a rotation frequency of 5 rps was combined with measurements of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) to calculate the effective biasing field ( Bg ) that produced the RRM. Samples of single-domain greigite had Bg values between -137 and -84 μT, and a MDF_RRM of c. 80 mT. By contrast, a suite of natural and synthetic ferrimagnetic iron oxide samples, including single-domain magnetite and y Fe₃O₄ tape particles, acquired Bg values between -3 and -14 μT, and MDF_RRM ranged between 43 and 68 mT (when RRM was acquired). Multidomain magnetite did not acquire a RRM. Bg values at 5 rps were calculated from previously published data for magnetite particles of different grain sizes, which revealed a minimum Bg value of -24 μT and a MDF_RRM of 57 mT for the finest fraction (0.2-0.8 μm in diameter). In a geological example, measurements of Bg and MDF_RRM were used to detect the presence of greigite in a 4 m long Late Weichselian sediment core. Variations in inclination, declination and the intensity of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) correlate with changes in magnetic mineralogy.     

The rock magnetism of the Mississippian Madison Limestone north-central Wyoming

Summary. A history of remanence acquisition in the Madison Limestone in north-central Wyoming suggests that many processes affected the primary magnetization, including (1) dolomitization, (2) solution of evaporites during uplift in the Late Mississippian and (3) partial remagnetization in the Late Cretaceous or Cenozoic. The stability and intensity of the magnetization was greatest in the dolomitic limestones, while the dolomites and the less intense fossiliferous limestones contained magnetization of intermediate directional stability. The coarse- and fine-grained limestones gave erratic directions. The preservation of the Mississippian magnetization in the dolomitic limestone from the lower portion of the Madison testifies to the delicate mechanism of the dolomitization process, and suggests that the dolomitization may even have aided in the preservation of the magnetization. The presence of solution features corresponds closely to the presence of unstable directional behaviour. It appears that the formation of these features by solution of the evaporite beds led to the destruction of the primary remanence in the upper portion of the Madison.
Thermomagnetic curves indicate the presence in the lower portion of the Madison of almost pure magnetite. Although thermomagnetic curves from the upper portion are irreversible, alternating field and thermal demagnetization experiments show intensity changes similar to those from the lower portion, suggesting a similar magnetic mineral. Isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition curves also suggest the presence of a large amount of hematite or goethite in over half the samples which apparently did not contribute significantly to the natural remanent magnetization.     

Effects of weathering on single-domain magnetite in Early Pliocene marine marls

Rock magnetic parameters are often used to recognize variations in the original magnetic mineralogy and for normalizing purposes in palaeointensity studies. Incipient weathering, however, is shown to have a profound but partly reversible influence on the rock magnetic properties of the marls of the Early Pliocene Trubi formation in southern Sicily (Italy). The remanence in the marls resides in single-domain (SD) magnetite grains, but the remanent coercive force (H_cr) shows a strong variation and most values observed are anomalously high ( H_cr) range 36–188 mT).
The enhanced coercivities are attributed to stress in the magnetite grains induced by surface oxidation at low temperature. Upon heating to 150 °C a reduction of coercivities occurs that can be explained by a stress reduction as a result of a reduction of Fe^2- gradient due to a higher diffusion rate at elevated temperature. After heating to 150 °C, coercivities are quite uniform throughout the outcrop and the values are characteristic of SD magnetite (H_cr range 30–38 mT). The bulk susceptibility increases by 4–24 per cent, and the isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) decreases by 5–11 per cent. The increase in anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) is large: 20–242 per cent. The magnitude of the changes is related to the degree of weathering.
Another effect of heating the marl samples to 150 °C is a substantial reduction of the coercivities of the secondary overprint in the natural remanent magnetization. After heating. separation of the secondary and primary components by alternating-field demagnetization is more efficient. The usual difficulties of thermal demagnetization above 300 °C may thus be avoided by a combination of moderate heating to 150 °C and subsequent alternating-field demagnetization.     

An experiment relating to rotational remanent magnetization and frequency of demagnetizing field

Summary. Several tests have been carried out to investigate how the generation of rotational remanent magnetization depended on the frequency of the applied demagnetizing field. The equipment used is described. The investigation was carried out using two specimens, one being a synthetic specimen of magnetite, and the other a cylindrical rock sample. These specimens gave virtually identical behaviour with varying frequency, unlike the differing behaviours reported previously by Wilson & Lomax. For each of the separate alternating field frequencies used (ranging from 50 to 1210 Hz), as the rotational speed of each specimen was reduced from 0.1 cycle s⁻¹, the corresponding rotational remanent magnetization increased to a maximum value when the rotational speed was in each case just a little greater than 0.01 cycle s⁻¹, after which the rotational remanence decreases as the rotational speed decreases.     

Palaeomagnetism and K—Ar age of the Upper Ordovician Alcaparrosa Formation, Argentina

Summary. Palaeomagnetic data from 71 hand samples of igneous rocks of Late Ordovician age exposed in western Argentina (31.3°S, 69.4°W, Alcaparrosa Formation) are given. Stable remanent magnetization was isolated in the majority of samples; they yield a palaeomagnetic pole at 56°S 33°E ( N = 8, α₉₅= 16°). Whole rock K-Ar age determinations yield an age of 416 ± 10 Myr for a pillow lava of the Alcaparrosa Formation.
Palaeomagnetic data for South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica and India suggest that Gondwana was a unit at least as far back as 1000 Myr. The palaeomagnetic data define a rapid polar migration for Gondwana in Ordovician time which is consistent with the widespread occurrences of Late Ordovician glacial deposits across this supercontinent.     

Gyroremanent magnetization and the magnetic properties of greigite-bearing clays in southern Sweden

The acquisition of a gyroremanent magnetization (GRM) by single-domain (SD) greigite particles during alternating-field (AF) demagnetization is demonstrated. Previous palaeomagnetic studies failed to identify the presence of authigenic greigite in the glacio-marine clays studied. These clays formed the subject of an earlier debate about the validity of a Late Weichselian geomagnetic excursion (the Gothenburg Flip) in southern Sweden. The greigite carries a stable chemical remanent magnetization (CRM), which coexists with a detrital remanent magnetization (DRM) carried by magnetite. AF demagnetization could not isolate the primary remanence in the sediments where magnetite and greigite coexist, due to the overlapping coercivity spectra of the two minerals and the inability to determine the time lag between sediment deposition and CRM formation. Thermal demagnetization removed the CRM at temperatures below 400 C, but this method was hindered by the unconsolidated nature of the sediments and the formation of secondary magnetic minerals at higher temperatures. The results suggest that the low-coercivity DRM carried by magnetite was mistaken for a 'viscous' component in the earlier studies. Hence the former debate about the record of the Gothenburg Flip may have been based on erroneous palaeomagnetic interpretations or non-reproducible results. AF demagnetization procedures applied to samples suspected of bearing SD magnetic particles (such as greigite) should be carefully selected to recognize and account for GRM acquisition.     

Reappraisal of surface wave magnitudes in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East

We report on a detailed palaeomagnetic study of the Miocene Farellones volcanic formation in the Chilean Andes near Santiago (two sections, 37 sites, about 400 orientated cores). Petrological observations show evidence of low-grade metamorphism increasing downwards through the volcanic sequence. Optical observations of opaque minerals and magnetic experiments suggest that in many cases maghemitization is associated with hydrothermal alteration. However, thermal demagnetization data indicate that the low-grade metamorphism did not significantly modify the direction of the primary remanent magnetization recorded at the time of emplacement of the volcanic lava flows. Four intervals of polarity with two intermediate palaeodirections were observed in the ~650-m-thick composite section. According to the dispersion of flow average directions, palaeosecular variation was slightly larger than that observed in general during the Upper Cenozoic. The site mean directions obtained in this study differ significantly from the expected Miocene direction. Clockwise rotations of up to 20° of small blocks are probably associated with the deformation of the Andean Cordillera since middle Miocene times. Geomagnetic palaeointensity data were obtained, using the Thellier method, on 24 samples from eight distinct lava flows. The flow mean VDM varies from 1.4 to 4.0 × 10²² A m⁻². Altogether, our data seem to suggest the existence of a relatively low geomagnetic field undergoing large fluctuations. Although a linear relationship was observed between the natural remanent magnetization and the thermal remanent magnetization acquired during the Thellier–Thellier experiments, undetected chemical alteration of the magnetic minerals during hydrothermalism may also explain the unusually low palaeointensity obtained.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Shungura and Usno Formations, southwestern Ethiopia: new data and comprehensive reanalysis

Summary. Six hundred new samples are added to those we previously reported from the Shungura and Usno Formations of southwestern Ethiopia, and the entire data set is reviewed. Limited mineralogical study of sands indicates maghemite and hematite as carriers of remanence. After AF cleaning the remanent directions are well polarized into normal and reversed groups, with greater scatter in reversed directions. The time-averaged magnetization axis corresponds to a 'far-sided right-hand' virtual pole, a pattern previously found by Wilson. Intrasite dispersion is commonly large but better for the new samples, which we attribute to field technique. Polarity zonation is accomplished by statistical smoothing on stratigraphic plots of angle from dipole axis. Magnetozones are correlated with the standard polarity-chronologic intervals using K-A dates at nine stratigraphic levels. The main change from our previous interpretation is that the reversed zone in the Basal Member of the Shungura Formation is correlated with the top of the Gilbert Epoch rather than with the Mammoth event of the Gauss Epoch. Thus the Basal Member and Member A are somewhat older than we previously believed, but age assignments for major fossil localities are unaffected. The inferred age ranges for the Shungura and Usno Formations are 3.5 to 0.8 Myr and 3.7 to 2.8 Myr respectively. The present analysis yields five zones of normal polarity in the lower Matuyama Reversed Epoch, that is, between the Matuyama/Gauss transition and the base of the Olduvai. All were found both in the previous data and in the new samples taken at different locations. For three of the five zones an unbroken series of normal samples extends over several lithologies, so a geomagnetic event is indicated.     

A PALAEOMAGNETIC STUDY OF JURASSIC AND CRETACEOUS SEDIMENTS

Summary. Representative samples of Cretaceous and Jurassic arenaceous rocks and some Jurassic limestone samples were collected. The arenaceous rocks were generally either too weakly magnetized for the measurement of their remanent magnetization, or were unstable; higher intensities of magnetization were recorded in the limestones. The magnetic directions of the few reversed Jurassic limestones indicate a pole position near Omsk. X-ray analysis indicates that the detrital iron ore mineral present was goethite. It is concluded that the palaeomagnetic unsuitability of these Jurassic and Cretaceous deltaic deposits results from the weathering conditions in the source area.     

Magnetic properties of hydrothermally synthesized greigite (Fe3 S4 )—II. High- and low-temperature characteristics

The magnetic behaviour of hydrothermally synthesized greigite was analysed in the temperature range from 4 K to 700 °C. Below room temperature, hysteresis parameters were determined as a function of temperature, with emphasis on the temperature range below 50 K. Saturation magnetization and initial susceptibility were studied above room temperature, along with X-ray diffraction analysis of material heated to various temperatures. The magnetic behaviour of synthetic greigite on heating is determined by chemical alteration rather than by magnetic unblocking. Heating in air yields more discriminative behaviour than heating in argon. When heated in air, the amount of oxygen available for reaction with greigite determines the products and magnetic behaviour. In systems open to contact with air, haematite is the final reaction product. When the contact with air is restricted, magnetite is the final reaction product. When air is excluded, pyrrhotite and magnetite are the final reaction products; the amount of magnetite formed is determined by the purity of the starting greigite and the degree of its surficial oxidation. The saturation magnetization of synthetic greigite is virtually independent of temperature from room temperature down to 4 K. The saturation remanent magnetization increases slowly by 20–30 per cent on cooling from room temperature to 4 K. A broad maximum is observed at ~10 K which may be diagnostic of greigite. The coercive and remanent coercive force both increase smoothly with decreasing temperature to 4 K. The coercive force increases from ~50 mT at room temperature to approximately 100–120 mT at 4 K, and the remanent coercive force increases from approximately 50–80 mT at room temperature to approximately 110–180 mT at 4 K.     

The acquisition of post-depositional detrital remanent magnetization in a variety of natural sediments

Summary. Post-depositional detrital remanent magnetization (pDRM) is the primary means whereby many sediments acquire their palaeomagnetic signal. We have studied the acquisition of this magnetization in a variety of natural sediments. Our technique involves determining the magnetic direction recorded by a sediment as a function of the water content present in the sediment when the sediment experiences a change in the direction of the applied magnetic field. Most of the sediments used in this study were collected wet from natural environments and were preserved in their original state until they were used in the experiments. Grain sizes were measured by the settling tube method which led to the determination of the clay, silt and sand fractions in each sediment. Isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition studies indicated that the predominant magnetic carriers were magnetite. In the pDRM acquisition studies two distinct modes of behaviour were found. For sediments with a sand content less than 60 per cent, the original direction of magnetization was preserved regardless of the water content. Such behaviour is not consistent with a theoretical model which assumes that at high water contents the magnetic carriers remain mobile within fluid-filled voids and hence are able to realign along a new magnetic field direction. For sediments with a sand content in excess of 60%, remagnetization along a new magnetic field direction occurred as expected, provided the sediments were sufficiently wet. Studies of natural sediments and corresponding samples of dried and reconstituted sediments have demonstrated that the magnetic characterization of a sediment can be reliably determined even for older, desiccated sediments.     

Using geomagnetic secular variation to separate remanent and induced sources of the crustal magnetic field

Magnetic fields originating from magnetized crustal rocks dominate the geomagnetic spectrum at wavelengths of 0.1–100 km. It is not known whether the magnetization is predominantly induced or remanent, and static surveys cannot discriminate between the two. Long‐running magnetic observatories offer a chance, in principle, of separating the two sources because secular variation leads to a change in the main inducing field, which in turn causes a change in the induced part of the short‐wavelength crustal field. We first argue that the induced crustal field, b ^I( t ), is linearly related to the local core field, B ( t ), through a symmetric, trace‐free matrix A : b ^I( t )= A B ( t ). We then subtract a core field model from the observatory annual means and invert the residuals for three components of the remanent field, b ^R( t ), and the five independent elements of A . Applying the method to 20 European observatories, all of which have recorded for more than 50 years, shows that the most difficult task is to distinguish b ^R from the steady part of b ^I. However, for nine observatories a time‐dependent induced field fits the data better than a steady remanent field at the 99 per cent confidence level, suggesting the presence of a significant induced component to the magnetization.     

A high pressure cell for chemical demagnetization of sediments

Summary. A simple high pressure cell suitable for chemical demagnetization of low porosity sediments is described. It requires no external pumps and components of chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) are progressively removed by HC1 leaching under pressures of 52–60 kg cm⁻².